Africa

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Feb 20, 2012 1:10 AM
Temoris

last reply
Feb 20, 2012 12:57 PM
GillesB

1 replies
1,330 views
location: Ethiopia

Danakil report (after 17th january massacre at Ert Ale volcano)

A group of seven foreign citizens travelled four days in the Danakil, from January 30th to February 2nd: we slept two nights in Hamed Ela, one night on the Erta Ale volcano rim (just where the massacre took place), and visited also the Dallol crater and the salt mine on lake Assale (different to Djibouti's lake Assal).

We were concerned, of course, as the massacre where five Europeans were killed and two more, plus two Ethiopians, were kidnapped had happened just two weeks before.

There is military presence now there. We hired two Afar guards because it is mandatory, though we don’t know what they are actually good for: all the fatal victims of the massacre were foreign, what were their guards doing?, we wondered. A local tourism agency employee in Mekele told me the Afar authorities demand their guards to be hired as a way to leave some revenue for the local community. But for ... more »

Feb 20, 2012 12:35 AM
Carolinafig

last reply
Feb 21, 2012 1:22 AM
Jeroen

1 replies
600 views
location: South Africa

Accommodation in Clarens

Hi there,

Hope you can help.

We are looking for nice and affordable, self catering accommodation in Clarens, for this April.

anyone got any suggestions of great places they stayed?

thanks

Caz

Feb 20, 2012 12:27 AM
lampinen

last reply
Mar 14, 2012 4:35 AM
warren78G

15 replies
1,735 views
location: Kenya

Pages 1 2

Hostels along the coast

I'm going to Kenya on the 5th through 18th of march and looking for some nice hostels along the coast north of Mombasa all the way up to Lamu.

Feb 19, 2012 11:30 PM
Euridice

last reply
Feb 20, 2012 6:38 PM
twino

2 replies
735 views
location: Kenya

Recommendations for good travel agency in NBO

Does anyone have any recommendations for a good travel agent in Nairobi who is able to find good deals on complicated flights? E.g. more than one destination, "strange" destinations/routess in/to Africa and the Middle East. I've had some problems with some agencies in the past so wondering if anyone has a favourite out there to recommend!

Thanks :-)

Feb 19, 2012 11:18 PM
Euridice

last reply
Mar 1, 2012 5:21 AM
Euridice

2 replies
981 views
location: Eritrea

Eritrean visa in Nairobi

Hello!

Does anyone have experience with getting an Eritrean visa in Nairobi? I am a Canadian citizen and resident of Somaliland. I will not be back in Canada anytime soon to apply there but I have seen in other posts that if you are a resident of another country you can apply in that country. There is obviously no way to get a visa in Somaliland so I'm wondering about the possibility of getting on in Nairobi, or possibly Djibouti. I have read the land border is closed between Djibouti and Eritrea for the moment but are there any flights going between the two countries?

Thanks for the help as always.

Feb 19, 2012 11:04 PM
sbobln

last reply
Feb 21, 2012 1:21 AM
Jeroen

1 replies
363 views
location: South Africa

Drakensberg/Midlands: Landcape appearance in October

Hi, we will travel in october through kwala zulu natal from Joburg to St. Lucia and back.
Shall we do a detour to the drakensberg region (any recommendation) or is it to early in spring in respect to flowers and green grasland and day hiking?

Also any recommendation for stops between drakensberg region and St. Lucia Wetland park. I'm focussed on nature and bird watching. History in not my thing.

Thanks
Sven

Feb 19, 2012 8:34 PM
Bwak

last reply
Feb 22, 2012 1:14 AM
Bwak

6 replies
1,413 views
location: Morocco

Morocco hassle v India

Hi all,
We are heading off to Morocco in may just to Fez and Marrakech.
Having never been to Morocco before was wondering if the level of hassle by touts and ect was similar to India?
I have travelled a fair amount in India so would be interested to hear anyone's thoughts!
Cheers
Andrew

Feb 19, 2012 8:13 PM
viaggero

last reply
Feb 20, 2012 2:44 AM
Simsy

4 replies
552 views

Cell phone use in West Africa

Last summer, one sim card worked for the relatively big nations of Kenya & Tanzania combined, and I believe it would have been useful in Uganda.

If I am traveling in Senegal, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Morocco, Mauritania and Mali, are there any regional cards that you recommend or if not, which ones are the best by country?

thanks,
kendrick

Feb 19, 2012 5:42 PM
Pakacat

last reply
Feb 21, 2012 1:13 AM
jowen12

2 replies
503 views
location: Tanzania

Tanzanian safari

Hello everyone,
I am planning a safari to the Serengeti in the fall and I'm taking a friend. She is a world traveler, but this will be her first time in Tanzania as well as myself. We've talked about it and she mentioned safety and automatically thought about the animals. She is concerned about the poachers and others who carry firearms. I've assured her many times to look at all the people who have journeyed to East Africa and had an incredible time. Is their anyone out there who has made such a journey and NOT felt safe? Please respond. Thank you

Feb 19, 2012 3:49 PM
roger57

last reply
Feb 19, 2012 3:49 PM
roger57

0 replies
199 views
location: Ethiopia

Postscript to my post!

Anyone wanting to team up for Danakil to cut costs then please let me know.

Feb 19, 2012 3:46 PM
roger57

last reply
Feb 26, 2012 9:46 PM
4all

7 replies
932 views
location: Ethiopia

Some Advice-Particularly Dankil

Hi,
I would appreciate some views on a number of aspects of a future trip to Ethiopia from 6-22 April. Me 55 & my 2 adult kids.
We are planning to do some of historic circuit but leave time for a few days in Simien Mts & were looking to go to Danakil if possible. I have read a lot of the posts with suggestions but contact back from agents a bit slow & those that have responded seem to want to steer us towards quite expensive & full scale tours.
Anyway-my queries:
-are the costs for internal flights cheaper if bought in Ethiopia? We seem to be able to book from UK but are we paying tourist rates?
-do you still need to reconfirm the day prior to departure?
-what is the likely availability likely to be if booking at short notice?
-Danakil-is April too hot out there?
-I am aware of recent security problems but I gather tours still going.
-any rec's on specific companies used for... more »

Feb 19, 2012 2:21 PM
jmee

last reply
Feb 20, 2012 6:23 PM
jmee

5 replies
803 views
location: Kenya

Davanu Shuttle / East Africa Shuttle???

Hi Guys,

I'm just booking our shuttle bus from Nairobi to Marangu Hotel. The Hotel suggested we use Davanu shuttles and I have been in contact with them. Something strange though - when you google Davanu it comes up with the East Africa Shuttles Page... out of curiosity I emailed them and said are you the same as Davanu, their reply was that Davanu ceased to exist 5 years ago... Davanu has since said to be careful of East Africa Shuttles as they are basically 'piggy backing' off their company because Davanu has a better reputation!
I'm hoping that all will be fine booking with Davanu...??? but can anyone calify this?

Thanks!
Jamie

Feb 19, 2012 2:13 PM
skibee11

last reply
Feb 22, 2012 2:26 PM
skibee11

13 replies
1,343 views
location: South Africa

Recommended Vaccines for SA and Swaziland

Hubby and I will be visiting SA (12 or so days) and Swaziland (2-3 days) in June. Wondering what vaccinations are recommended. We went to Thailand for a few weeks a couple years ago and daringly didn't get any vaccinations but luck was on our side and we were totally fine.

We'll be visiting Kruger, Swaziland (Mpila Camp), Durban, Imfolozi and Cape Town, camping in some places, hotel stays in others. What vaccinations are essential, in addition to bringing along anti-malaria pills--a must for me b/c the bugs bite the crap out of me whether I'm in Alaska, Thailand or Australia and slather on repellent?

Thanks for any advice!

Feb 19, 2012 1:53 PM
nostalgictofu

last reply
Mar 6, 2012 7:13 AM
nostalgictofu

12 replies
3,007 views
location: Morocco

Asian female traveling alone to non-tourisy areas in Morocco

Hi everyone,

I'm Chinese-American, early 20s, female, hoping to travel by myself to Morocco for around 10 days at the end of this May.

I did some research, so I think I have some understanding of the general situation, but I do have a few specific questions relating to my ethnicity and traveling habits.

When I was traveling alone in Spain, I received a lot of attention from strangers in both metropolitan cities and small towns. They seem to like the rare Asian look and told me that I should be a model. They were more friendly instead of unpleasant though, so I was fine. But I wonder if the situation would escalate in Morocco. Does anyone know about the general impression towards Asian females there? I'm petite and don't appear to be very strong, so I'm worried that they might see me as more submissive or vulnerable, and be more aggressive than they would towards Western femal... more »

Feb 19, 2012 1:52 PM
southafricatrip

last reply
Feb 23, 2012 3:07 AM
Voyager_2002

9 replies
1,039 views
location: South Africa

most comfortable way of getting to JNB

We are heading back to South Africa for a 2ed time.

Our only problem last time was the air flight. We are looking to fly from Toronto, but thinking we could get a cheap flight out of Toronto to London then on to J’burg.

But for the big flight between LON and JNB we are looking to upgrade. We are both larger people, and we are thinking of booking something that is not the very cheapest seat we can find for the first time in our lives.

**Is ‘PREM ECON’ worth it? Is BA better than Virgin?**

What is the most comfortable way of getting to JNB for the least amount of cash?

Thank you

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